Livelihood Reports Al Amrikeya Area - Final Assessment | Page 85

2.3.3.3 Pedestrian Flow
Pedestrian counts were made at nine different
locations around the site. These counts includ-
ed also the type of activity pursued by the us-
ers. It can be inferred from the data collected
that locals for food and shopping mostly use
the area during the day, whereas in the evening
street vendor activity dominates. Pedestrian
movement was most prominent on the “Divid-
ed from al-Tahrir,” road in front of Aly al-Deen
mall, and around the 6th of October University.
During the weekend (Friday) in the evening, the
crowds reach its peak for all activities, especial-
ly in front of the “Syrian Passage”. Near the 6th
of October University, the highest number of
users was found to be seated and eating during
the day. The largest number of shoppers was
found in front of al-Amrikiyya and Aly al-Deen
II Malls, both of which attract many street ven-
dors in the evening.
The main pedestrian pathway cutting through
the area is through Aly al-Deen II Mall (Figure
26), connecting “Divided from al-Tahrir” with a
dirt road that overlooks Cascade and Diamond
Mall. Another major pathway runs parallel to
al-Amrikiyya Mall and the University parking
lot (Figure 27). This passage creates a shortcut
from al-Tahrir to “Divided from al-Tahrir” road
and allows University students and visitors to
park their cars on the main road and travel a
short distance on foot into heart of AAA. Aly
al-Deen I Mall is also highly permeable on the
ground floor and is often used a shortcut. Mo-
bility is possible through al-Amrikiyya Mall,
which contains many passages, but has shown
to be avoided by females especially in the
evening.
On the ground level, visitors park their cars
along the sidewalks and in slow lanes. Desig-
nated parking lots exist between Cascade and
Magda Mall and in front of Cascade facing al-
Tahrir Road. The University parking (Figure
28), which used to be open to the public, is
now reserved for University buses. The empty
49 | Understanding the development context
lot in front of Melody Café serves as a parking
area in the morning, until around 16:00 (Figure
29). This relieves the area of congestion in the
morning but does not help during the evening
when the area is busier. Parking spaces in mall
basements remain either unutilised or rented
as storage spaces for street vendors (Figure 30).
Figure 28: The University parking is used only for buses
and is not accessible for visitors © Takween icd
Figure 29: Vacant land in front of Zamzam Mall provides
parking space for a portion of the day © Takween icd
Figure 30: Mall parking garages are inaccessible for cars
© Takween icd